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Jeremy Williams

“MENTOR NEEDED” exclaimed the flyer in a bold, excessive print across the top. “In

search of an educated, experienced gentleman who can guide our son through his quarter life

crisis” as the flyer continued to progress down the page. “WORTHWHILE SALARY” once

again in that gaudy print; this time it was lining the middle of the flyer. “Friday October 25th,

3pm” “Taft Hotel Ball Room, Midtown LA” concluded the flyer.

It had been nearly six months since Ben had returned from Berkley, a total of ten months

since his departure. His days of lounging in the pool came to a close as the fall months ensued,

and lethargic attitude was slowly but surely driving his parents insane. They understood his

heavy heart, but as supportive parents, seeming to want the best for Ben, they decided to take

matters in their own hands. They drew up a short yet sweet flyer, at least they thought it was, and

scattered it all around town. Convinced the “worthwhile salary” would bring in a multitude of

potential mentors, Mr. and Mrs. Braddock began to draft up a list of questions to ask the

candidates.

October 25th soon arrived and the candidates began to gather in the ball room for their

chance to become Ben’s new mentor. The Braddock’s waited until around 3:10 until the last

candidate stumbled in before starting. Mrs. Braddock began with a short description about her

son’s recent series of misadventures, and why they believed he needed a mentor. Following the

information regarding their son, Mr. Braddock began to discuss how the interviewing process

was going to work. “Each of you will have a designated ten minute time slot. We will begin by

allowing you to provide us with some general information about yourself, and once you have

concluded we will proceed to ask a few questions.” “The bar is right around the corner. You are

welcome to help yourself while you are waiting and good luck!” Mrs. Braddock concluded.
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The first person to approach the table was a quiet elderly man. He slowly pulled out his

chair and sat down before the Braddock’s. “Good evening, my name is Doctor Mandelet” said

the elderly man in an almost inaudible tone. Hearing this, the Braddock’s looked toward one

another. Both had smiles on their faces from ear to ear. “Please continue Doctor” exclaimed Mrs.

Braddock. Doctor Mandelet began to rattle off his different degrees and certifications as the

Braddock’s sat in amazement. Once he had come to the conclusion of his accomplishment, Mr.

Braddock began with the first question on the list. “Why do you want to be our son’s mentor”

Doctor Mandelet released a short sigh and began his response.

“I have been a family physician going on fifteen years now and in that time I have seen

all kinds of different people. Not only have I diagnosed their physical illnesses, but the more I

got to know these people and their family dynamic the more I began to recognize a sort of mental

sickness amongst some of them. To this day there is zero science to describe what love is or why

it happens, but I have seen the physical and mental toll it begins to have on some people. For

instance, I was once the family doctor for a lovely family. The husband was very successful and

had a beautiful wife. From the outside looking in it seemed that everything was going splendid,

but I quickly began to realize it was not as perfect as it seemed. Unfortunately the wife went out

for a swim one evening and never came back. I have experienced tragedy of both the physical

and mental sense; my intent is to avoid another such tragedy by any means possible.”

This response blew away Mr. and Mrs. Braddock. Once they regained their composure

Mr. Braddock proceeded with the second question. “What is your greatest weakness?” Knowing

exactly how to answer this question Doctor Mandelet quickly began. “I would say that my

greatest weakness would be self-restraint. As a doctor your goal is aid your patients in the

healing process whether it is with medicine or simply sharing information with someone. My
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issue has been withholding information that I don’t believe is critical to the healing process.

Referring to the same family as before, I had originally noticed that the wife had begun to act out

of character a few months beforehand. At first I thought nothing of it, but the more time I spent

around her the more skeptical I became. Had I shared my skepticism with someone rather than

silently brewing it over, maybe her story could have ended differently.”

Speechless Mrs. Braddock looked toward her husband. He as well didn’t have any

noteworthy response so he proceeded to ask the Doctor if he had any questions for them. Content

with his two answers Doctor Mandelet responded with a brief “I don’t think so”, stood up, said

“Thank you for your time”, and silently walked away.

The next candidate begins to walk toward the table. He politely introduces himself to

both interviewers simply as Winterbourne. Though slightly befuddled they continue. “So tell us

about you Mr. Winterbourne,” proclaims Mrs. Braddock. He promptly begins to discuss his

secondary education in a proud manner, and ends his abridged biography with the tails of his

traveling all over Europe while taking care of his aunt. Mrs. Braddock seemed to be thrilled with

the short stories of all his travels, but on the other hand Mr. Braddock wasn’t nearly as

impressed. “So, what makes you want to be a mentor for our son if you could just be traveling all

over Europe?” Mr. Braddock asked in a noticeably irritated tone.

“Well, I too have had my fair share of problems with love. The reason I have returned to

America is due to a loss of hope in one I loved. I know how difficult it is to pick back up your

life from where it was before after this loss. I feel that I can relate on a personal level with Ben

because we both come from similar backgrounds, though our paths were different. I have

returned to America in hopes of finding true meaning and I feel that I might be able to achieve

this by sharing my experiences with your son.”

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His response loosened Mr. Braddock up a hair, but he still wasn’t completely on board

with Winterbourne. He quickly moved into the second question. “What would you say is your

greatest weakness?” Winterbourne took a second to think but began with confidence. “I would

have to say falling too hard is my greatest weakness. I have put a significant amount of effort

into things in my life that have turned out to be an immense waste of time. However, I think this

could also be viewed as a positive in helping your son.” Mrs. Braddock, being a fan of his

answers quickly responded with “Thank you for your time! We will get back with you shortly

with our decision.” As Winterbourne leaves Mr. Braddock stands up as well and heads to the bar.

Hoping a drink will help him ignore his wife’s obvious interest in Winterbourne, Mr.

Braddock bumps into one of candidates standing at the bar. He is a young Italian man who seems

way more interested in the middle aged lady across the bar than he does in the possibility of

becoming a mentor. He introduces himself as Giovanni and exclaims he is incredibly excited for

the opportunity. Mr. Braddock kind of shrugs his excitement off as he turns to pay for his drink.

Taking another glance at the lady across the bar he quickly realizes that it is Mrs. Robinson.

Aware now of what his son had done, Mr. Braddock quickly dismisses Giovanni in attempts to

avoid any further problems.

On the way back to the table Mr. Braddock grabs the final candidate who is ecstatic to

have moved up to an earlier slot. His level of excitement gave Mr. Braddock some hope that

things were looking up. When they arrived at the table the man introduces himself to the

Braddock’s as Sheppard. Mr. Braddock, not being surprised by anything at this point, ignores the

fact that he goes simply by one name and gets right into things. Sheppard begins by telling the

Braddock’s about how he lost his wife too soon, and how this eventually caused his son to take

his own life. This immediately drew Mr. Braddock from his irritated stupor. It in fact brought out
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an empathetic side of Mr. Braddock that had yet to be seen. After the sob story had finished, and

both interviewers had wiped the tears from their eyes, Mrs. Braddock asked Sheppard “Why do

you want to be our son’s mentor?” Sheppard paused for dramatic effect, and then began.

“It would be my honor to be the mentor for your son. Since the death of my young one, I

have wanted nothing more than to do what I can to help those who are struggling with any aspect

of their life. I take it as my sole responsibility to help them get back upon their feet and become

viable members of society. I want nothing more than to see those who have previously struggled

succeed, and that is why I want to mentor your son.”

For the second time that day both of the Braddocks were rendered speechless. This time it

was due to the shear desire that Sheppard had to do good for others, rather than the infinite

wisdom and experience of the Doctor. Excited to hear the next answer Mr. Braddock quickly

moved into the next question: “What is your biggest weakness?”

“Overcommitting is easily my biggest weakness. When I find a cause that I truly believe

in I dedicate myself to it one hundred and ten percent. I put so much effort into making that

person better than I sometimes lose sight of what I need to be doing for myself.”

Sheppard’s selfless astounded both Braddock’s. They graciously thanked him for coming

and Sheppard took his place next to the other two candidates. The Braddock’s then began their

deliberation. Winterbourne was quickly ousted, because despite how relatable he was he didn’t

really have much going for him, and Mr. Braddock was able to finally convince the Mrs. of this

because her emotional clock had now been pointed elsewhere. Narrowed down to two people the

decision becomes significantly more difficult, or at least you would think it should have been.

Mr. and Mrs. Braddock made eye contact and knew exactly what they were going to do.

They both had no doubt in their mind that Sheppard was the man for the job. They chose
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Sheppard because they believed he was actually interested in making their son a better person.

They chose Sheppard because they believed he actually tried to help his own son, and could help

their son too. They chose Sheppard because they wanted to, and what they wanted for Ben

happened every time.